Travel Tuesday: Cool and Unique Things to Do In Disneyland

Disneyland is one of our favorite places to go. I wish I would have kept count of how many times we have gone but we have definitely gone plenty of times. We absolutely love all of the rides at the parks but it’s always fun when we try to seek out fun things we haven’t done before. When Clever Teen and I just went for the Star Wars Half Marathon, we purposely sought out as many things as we could that we hadn’t done before. Below are our favorite suggestions on what to see and do at Disneyland that you probably haven’t done before! If you have done these, tell us which ones are your favorite!

Cool and Unique Things to Do In Disneyland

Explore the Columbia Sailing Ship

Currently the Rivers of America are closed due to the construction of Star Wars land. However, you may be able to still have fun by exploring the Sailing Ship Columbia! On the ship, you can see some of the fun things like cannons but you can also go down below to see the living quarters.

You can ring the bell and yell “The sky is falling the sky is falling!”. At least that is what the Clever Teen found really fun to do on the ship.

Take a Princess Selfie

Sure you could ask someone to take your photo but it’s even more fun to show that you have princess selfies!

Ride a Main Street Vehicle

You have probably seen them traveling down Main Street but have you taken the time to ride in one? There are a few options:

Horse-Drawn Street Car, an old-fashioned trolley pulled by a horse

Jitney, an early automobile without a roof

Fire Engine, a replica of the very first fire trucks

Omnibus, a gas-powered, open-air 2-story bus

We took some time to ride the omnibus, it takes you to the castle and it’s a fun quick little ride! If you go on it, ride on the top to get a unique view you haven’t seen before of Min Street. I can’t believe we hadn’t done this before!

Watch Mickey and the Magical Map

You may have missed where this show is because it’s tucked away in Fantasyland Theater near Toon Town but it really is too good to miss! Mickey’s Magical Map is a show where you’ll get to travel to fun places with some of your favorite characters that you don’t normally see in the parks. Plus there are bubbles and streamers, it really is a FUN show!

King Louie from The Jungle Book

Pocahontas from Pocahontas

Mulan from Mulan

Rapunzel and Flynn Rider from Tangled

Tiana from The Princess and the Frog

Stitch from Lilo and Stitch

TIP: Get there early to get a good seat!

See the Evil Queen

Have you ever stood in the middle of Fantasy Land and thought someone was looking at you? The Evil Queen will occasionally open her curtain to see what is going on below. If you want to see the queen, you’ll need to be patient and look above Snow White’s ride as she reveals herself every few minutes. If you spend some time in Fantasyland, you may also see some other villains.

Enjoy Unique Treats

You’ve probably tried the infamous churros and Dole whips but have you tried some of the hidden treats of Disneyland? Try the Boysen Apple Drink from Maurice’s Treats near the Royal Faire.

You can also try the Cinnamon Apple twists at Maurice’s or at Troubadour near Mickey’s Magical Map. Did you now that the Troubadour also has baked potatoes! I never knew that Disneyland had baked potatoes until our most recent trip!

Play in Toon Town

You’ve been to Toon Town but have you played in Toon Town? Be sure to check out the little signs and play things. Be sure to look for the door shown below, it’s always fun to sit and watch people’s reactions when they pull this door!

See the It’s a Small World Clock

Have you seen the clock go off at Small World? They go off about every 15 minutes and the children of Small World will come out and dance!

Disneyland Railroad

In 2016 , the Disneyland Railroad will remain closed so that the park can continue to work on the Star Wars section of the park. However, you can still go into the Main Street station and speak with the conductors of the trains and even check out the Disneyland Railroad train and the presidential Lilly Belle car!

You can also check out the trains at other stations like the one at New Orleans Square!

See the Tangled Show

Did you know that you can see a fun recap of the Tangled story with Rapunzel and Flynn Ryder at the Fantasy Faire theater? This is Clever Teen’s favorite character so we actually saw the show, twice! Here’s a tip: if you stay after, you may be able to get a photo with them!

Enjoy Mickey Mouse Belgium Waffles at Disneyland Carnation Cafe

You haven’t completed your trip to Disneyland until you have a big Mickey Belgium Waffle. These are only available at Carnation Cafe and they are as delicious as they look! Here’s a tip: make a reservation before you go as walk-ins are rare. You can make reservations online at Disneyland.com. If you aren’t able to make a reservation, you can grab some mini Mickey waffles at the nearby Story Teller’s Cafe.

Take a Tour of Disneyland

Did you know that you can do tours at Disneyland? You can do the walk in Walt’s footsteps tour where you can see what inspired Walt Disney to create Disneyland Park! You can even design your own VIP tour! Check out all the tours here: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/events-tours/

Disneyland California Adventure

Dance in Cars Land

If you spend time in Cars Land in the late afternoon, you’re in for a few treats! You’ll get to see DJ come out and play some tunes and you and your family can participate in a fun dance right along Route 66! After that, grab a snack and wait for the street to light up! You’ll see all of the neons glow and hear the music from Cars!

Disneyland California Adventure Water Art

When you are in Disney’s California Adventure, have a seat and people watch. You may get to see the cast member’s who do the water art on the ground with just a broom and bucket of water!

Make Your Own Ice Cream Bar

When you are near the Carthay Circle Fountain in California Adventure, you can relax and enjoy your own customized Hand-dipped Ice Cream Bar from Clarabelle’s (right next to Starbucks)! Choose an ice cream bar flavor, a chocolate coating, and a topping. The Mickey-shaped sprinkles were too cute to pass up!

Climb Tarzan’s Treehouse

Want to have a fun adventure and burn off the calories from all of the Disneyland treats? Then you have to climb up to Tarzan’s treehouse near Pirate’s of the Caribbean. The view from the top is amazing!

Springtime Flowers

Have you seen the flowers bloom around the park during Spring time? It’s a beautiful site to see! You can catch a great view of the castle and Tomorrowland.

Dance with Goofy

If you head past the fountains, you may see a line for a Goofy picture opp. If you do, jump in then ask him to dance! Clever Teen had a great time dancing with a dapper Goofy and it made for the cutest photos!

Want to book your own trip to Disney? I’ve partnered with Getaway Today and when you use code CleverPirate, you’ll get$10 off any 2-night or longer Southern California package. This is on top of the already reasonably priced vacation packages that they offer! Along with great prices, Getaway Today also offers a free Peace of Mind Plan (travel insurance) and free Layaway Payment Plan for personal vacation purchases. These are a $125 value that allow you to hold your reservation without full payment and make as many changes to your trip as needed without change fees.

We live really close to disney world, but it has been forever since Ive been to disneyland.They do have their own unique charms. Id love to go back as an adult since its hard for me to remember those things from childhood.

We ALWAYS ride the Disneyland Railroad all the way around once per trip, there are so many neat surprises! It’s also a great place to eat a snack * get off your feet for a bit. I hope they haven’t changed the older parts of the train too much.

Trackbacks

[…] 6. Stay at a hotel near the park and walk instead of parking at the parks. This way, you won’t have to worry about paying for parking everyday or paying for transportation to and from the parks. You’ll also avoid the stress of waiting in the parking lines. When looking for a nearby hotel, look for these three things: free parking, free breakfast, and properties within walking distance or ones that offer a free shuttle. By avoiding the cost for breakfast, parking, and transportation, you can easily save over $50 and up to $100 a day. You can search for these amenities by using apps like Hotels.com or kayak.com. – Sarah Blake, cleverpinkpirate.com […]

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Welcome to CleverPinkPirate.com! I'm Sara and I live in Phoenix, AZ. I share a little bit of everything here including frugal family travel, easy recipes, and budget friendly DIY projects! You can find out more about me here.